Past Continuous or Past Simple

What can you remember about using past continuous to describe interrupted time? Here's a little refresher:

When you want to talk about two actions in the past, it is often the case that one is past continuous and the other past simple.

The long action is past continuous and the short one, or the one that interrupts it is past simple.

For example:

"I was walking to school when I heard a loud crash."

Look through the sentences below and see if you can decide which form of the verb is correct.

Note: One of the sentences is very different from the others, can you see why?

Lesson by Caroline

• 1. I (watch) TV when I heard a loud noise.
• 2. I was eating lunch when I (see) her.
• 3. It (start) to rain when I was walking in the city.
• 4. I (live) in London when it happened.
• 5. I was buying some food when my uncle (call) me.
• 6. She was running in the park when she (trip) over a rock.
• 7. They (read) the newspaper when he told her he loved her.
• 8. I (see) a dolphin while I was swimming.
• 9. I (buy) a new dress because the shop was having a huge sale.
• 10. We (love) the cake our friend made for us.